A Fox Among Wolves
by Ziggurat Rolsovitch
Summary: A story of a young fox outcast trying to survive in a pack of wolves. Through trials, hardship and an unwavering faith the young fox faces monsters and witches. Can the hero prevail or will she be swallowed by an unspeakable evil?


Summary: A story of a young fox outcast trying to survive in a pack of wolves. Through trials, hardship and an unwavering faith the young fox faces monsters and witches. Can the hero prevail or will she be swallowed by an unspeakable evil?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs.

DISCLAMIER: THIS STORY IS A FICTIONAL STORY AND ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CHARACTERS AND ACTUAL PEOPLE ARE PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

In other words... foxes and wolves can't talk.

XxXxX

I listen to my Brothers howl into the night. Their calls of freedom brought strength to some… and to others… fear. My family… a pack of wolves. My wolf pack. My home was here. With them.

I allowed my chest to puff up some in pride. This was my family. This was my wolf pack. I trotted up and in an attempt to howl, I caught the attention of my sisters.

"Tadomeka…" My sister Rin spoke, slowly approaching me like a true predator. Her eyes glowing with a dark intent that I was very weary of. My shoulders hunched in perpetration of fight or flight.

"Rin…" I gulped, soft amber eyes darting this way and that, looking for my escape. Katoto was at Rin's flank. I knew that the two sisters hated each other, but in recent incident of losing my dear brother… they had found a common enemy. ME.

"What is wrong with you?" Rin asked suddenly. Her tone taking on that vicious way, that I was sure would send spit flying my way. Full of anger, but why?

"Me? Whatcha talkin' 'bout?" I asked and cautiously waited for the vicious onslaught of insults that were sure to fly. It was always the same. It was tiring.

"You're no wolf. You don't belong here."

"Ma' says I do belong here!" I argued with her.

"You're not normal! You're not a wolf." Rin said snickering. I had always been close to Rin, but then… something changed about her. I knew I would never know what it was, but I knew something changed somewhere along the line. "Me thinks we have here quite the little drama queen"

"Is it that my loyalties are that insignificant to you? The Bible says to turn the other cheek, but it does not oblige me to stand there and take the hits over and over again."

"Just what is it that you are supposedly taking? Turn the other cheek to what?" Katoto asked in a snide voice.

"Who is hitting you?" Rin asked. She laughed. "I have the image of me and Katoto standing in a ring with boxing gloves on."

What I really wanted to say was 'that's not the point dumbass.' but I held it off. A figure of speech. Maybe THEY were the stupid ones.

I sighed. "Or could it be... my true honest feelings are what is really insignificant to you...?  
>That's okay. I don't need anybody to regard those feelings anyway."<p>

"Wow...a bit vitriolic in my opinion...…" Katoto said. I could hear the grin in her voice.

"Vitriolic? To whom? To both of you... You don't care about my feelings, you don't care about my thoughts. I have simple told you my feelings. So you if you can't respect me or my opinion then don't speak to me. You think you know everything about me, but you really don't. Because if you did you would see the way you hurt me."

"Girls?" I heard the gentle loving voice of Mother. My ears perked and my tail flicked back and forth happily as my tongue hung out.

"Ma'!" I called and bound over to her happily. My sisters tucked their tails between their legs and slipped away quickly. Once they left my happiness faded and I dropped to sit on the ground, held hung low.

"Tadomeka? What's the matter?"

"Nothin' Ma'."

"Come on. You know I can always tell when something is wrong." Mother urged and nudged me with her nose.

"I don't understand why they hate me." I replied in defeat. "I've only ever been nice to them."

"Well they hate me too. So don't feel bad. I guess its my fault."

"Ah, don't say that Ma'. They made their own choices. Its not your fault how they turned out." I didn't want to see her sad. Well… it broke this old heart of mine. I wished there was something I could say that would make her feel better. "Maybe… it would have been better if I was never here. Then maybe they would be normal."

"Nonsense." Mother said, pulling me close. I leaned my heard against her and listened to the soothing sound of her heartbeat. "I would be all alone if I didn't have you. And if you weren't here… who would take care of Mochikiari? Who would have rescued Kedokuku?"

"Well… I guess that's true."

"You may be a fox instead of a wolf, but that's what makes you special."

Yeah. That was true. I knew Ma wouldn't lie to me. I would never understand why my sisters hated me, but… the one thing that would never change… is that no matter what I would always be there to take care of them and I would always love them.  
>Just like my Ma. I loved my Ma more then anything and I would take care of her no matter what. Even if it meant I had to go down fighting to protect her. My family was my life.<p>

It didn't matter. Death was no concern to me. Heaven was not that far beyond it and there… there I would wait for them should it end for me so soon.  
>But for now… I would enjoy the slumber in peace curled up next to my dearest Ma. The place where I was safe from the rest of the world.<p>

XxXxX

Today was a new day. A fresh start. Oh, and how I loved the smell of fresh morning air. The sound of a gentle breeze and the river flowing in the background.  
>Many morning birds sang, which was mother's favorite sound in the morning.<p>

The feel of wet dewy grass under my paws was slightly unpleasant to the feel. I know how that sounds, that sounds weird. Odd. Whatever. It just felt that way.

I yawned as I slowly made my way to the river, stopping and taking a few licks of water to wash the sleep dry away. I lifted my head and looked across the river.  
>Across the river… was another pack. We normally stayed on our own sides, but there had been clashes in the past I knew.<p>

The other side…. That was where my brother was. Lost to their world. Those wolves believed they held powers of the undead. They believed they were the gods, but we knew the truth. The truth is… there's only one true God. Our creator. We all knew this by instinct already, but some people chose to stuff that down and ignore it.

It was only because they wanted to be the all mighty ones. They couldn't stand the fact that there was something more powerful then them out there.  
>In any case. They were blood thirty, power hungry animals. It was something that should be ignored at all costs.<p>

I missed my brother, but he had made his choice. My big brother. The gentle giant, who was always just and honest ad true… was gone.  
>With a sigh and a deep breath, I shook my head and turned back towards home. My breath caught when I spotted my nephew and another wolf I didn't know.<p>

"He-hey, Arichi! What are you doing!" I asked when I spotted him by the river.

"It's none of your business, Tadomeka." He replied and continued on with his friend.

"None of my business? You're my family, it is my business."

"I'm leaving."

"Where? You can't leave. And not with this guy." I said, straightening up to full height, which wasn't much, considering I wasn't a wolf.

"Stay out of my business and stay out of my life! You're not even a real wolf! So who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" He asked and my ears flattened against my head as I staggered back a step or two.

"You're my best friend, Arichi… I just don't want to lose you."

"Goodbye, Tadomeka." He took up a trot after the other wolf and they disappeared.

I sat in silence for a few moments, before I took off into a full blown run back home. I slid on the wet grass and slammed into a tree, where Mochikiari picked me up.

"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?" Mochikiari asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Where?" Kedokuku chimed in.

"Ah, no time! Where's Katoto? It's about Arichi!" I shouted. Both dogs looked at one another and pointed. I took off in that direction and stopped a few inches short of slamming into my older sister, she gave me a look of disgust, before rolling her eyes. "Katoto! Arichi has run off with a fighter! He's going to go fight with the dog soldiers!"

"I know."

"Wha… you… you know? How could you let him go?"

"If that's what he wants to do he can do it. It's fine. I don't care."

"He'll be killed!" I yelled, unable to believe it. She just shrugged with an indifferent look. "You're heartless! If I had a son I would never let him join the dog soldiers!"

Anger boiled in my blood, hotter then fire and I slowly, menacingly headed off on my own. I wondered why it always seemed that my life was falling apart around me and why I always lost everyone I ever cared about.  
>I had to admit that I actually wanted to murder the dog soldier recruiter… I may respect those soldiers, but if it meant protecting family I would have done it in an instance.<br>I just had to remind myself that wolves didn't cry, before continuing on. I never saw my nephew again.

XxXxX

Morning, it was morning and it was those damn birds again. Chirping all day long was all they ever did. Ugh.  
>And then I felt a crushing weight. They were doing it again.<p>

"AGH! Mochikiari! Stop sitting on me!" I scolded.

"No. Are you still depressed? Wake up!" Mochikiari howled in laughter. "Come on, mom."

"Yeah, mom!" Kedokuku laughed.

"Ever since rescuing you two, you consider me your mom. A little overboard, but sure. Fine. Whatever you want." I kicked at them both and they jumped away, still laughing. "We need a tale. Tadomeka and her overgrown sons!"

This seemed to make them laugh even harder. So I just got up and headed for my morning drink of water. The same thing every morning.

I caught Rin's reflection and knew she was behind me. Damn. She had me alone again. I knew it was coming.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Onii-san… so… go away now. I don't feel like fighting. I know it was Katoto that betrayed us and gave information to those other wolves. The ones Nii-san left with. She's a traitor and I could care less."

"Katoto is not doing anything malicious, her and I have no beef with you. Katoto thought you were mad at her for some reason. She stands corrected."

I wanted to laugh. It was the biggest load of bull. "Why are you taking sides anyway? What they're doing is wrong and you know it."

"So she's lying? I didn't know there were sides to take. You'll have to give me an example."

"Neither did I but apparently you did."

"I'm not the one attacking anyone."

"And I am?"

"You sound so mean, you're going to make me cry."

My ears twitched. She was playing with my head again. I hated when she did this. I turned my back on her and sat down, staring at my reflection in the water.

"Well my own sister stabbing me in the back is going to make me cry, but nobody cares about that."

"Like I said, you're going to have to give me an example."

"So I guess I'm a liar then?"

"Look, I am going to be real honest with you right now, and don't say a word to anyone. I have a big health thing going on right now that I am eventually going to have to tell everyone. I thought it might make you all re-think this foolishness and realize how important life is and HOW SHORT IT IS. But I don't know how I can now, I doubt it would make a difference. I can't handle this stress right now, I have to remove myself from it because my body cannot handle it."

My heart sunk and I felt sick. "Just forget I said anything."

"It's time for you to let go of old pointless hates that hold no merit anymore."

"Take the guilt trip on me fine. I don't care anymore." I didn't care much about anything at this point. I felt… empty in my heart. Was it so bad I didn't want to live this life with these people anymore?

"It's not guilt, it's truth." Rin said loudly. "I get it. OK, I don't need you to care."

"Why would you think I don't care?" I asked, my ears were low and my tail curled around myself as I stared into the water. She couldn't see the tears. "I love you."

I got up and walked away. Ignoring whatever she said next. I was so tired of this, my heart was all tattered and torn and I felt as if I didn't have much left in it. I would have preferred death over this… this feeling.

All of this, what was the point? At the point in time I wanted to kill those who made this situation possible. I had never wanted to kill anybody more then at that point in time.  
>Another glance at the river… and I considered jumping in. it wouldn't be so bad and this life would be done with.<p>

It hurt… and it hurt bad. Once extreme to the next. I didn't want this life anymore. I already lost so many things. So many things had been lost to me and I didn't want to lose anymore.

XxXxX

There was a distant, baying sound. Something odd, that I'd only heard once long ago. Something… that meant trouble.  
>I must have fallen asleep by the side of the river.<p>

My breath fogged in the early morning cold and I was alert. I didn't hear a gunshot, but I felt the dart in my shoulder and turned around to drag it out with my teeth. The hunters ran out and chased me, I took off, running as quickly as I could. I heard the fox-hounds howling as they came after me.

I ducked under a log just as the vicious teeth came for me. I crawled through the thick mud to escape and ran just as another dog missed me by inches, but I was tired. I was so tired.

A hunter grabbed me, but not before I bit his hand, my teeth drawing blood and leaving a deep gash. I took a kick, before another hunter grabbed me by the scruff.

"Tadomeka!" I heard Mother call and my eyes widened, but my Brother held her back. I was glad. Mimotaku… was my big brother. My Nii-sama. I knew he would protect mother at all costs and I was glad.

The hunters tossed me into a cage, laughing darkly... and I watched Mother from a cage in the back of a truck as she disappeared farther and farther in the distance. The panic took over me and I cried out to her. I was trapped.

Panic… absolute panic! I felt like I was buried in a box deep underground, unable to breath. I had to get out, had to get out. Had to make a break for it.

She broke away from my Brother, trying to keep up with the truck, but it was too quick. I felt tired from the dart... I knew it would be over soon. But I would find a way back to them. I would go back somehow...

Don't worry Ma. I'll show you how strong I can be.

XxXxX

My head was groggy, my throat hurt and I had a headache the size of Texas. I slowly lifted my head and looked around the room. I was in a cage in a dark room.  
>This place in it's odd way exuded pure evilness. Evilness. I stood slowly and paced around the cage, hearing the echo of my claws clicking on the metal.<p>

So far, I saw no escape. I tried my hand at gnawing through the bars, but my teeth weren't strong enough and the best it would do was give me tooth ache.  
>I paced again. If only I could figure this out. I had to get out. I had to get home. I sat and howled, but a rustling startled me.<p>

"Will you cut that out?" A gruff voice asked and I jumped out of my fur.

"W-who's there?" I asked cautiously, lowering my shoulders as I glanced into the dark where the voice came from. No answer. "Hello? I can hear you breathing."

"Silence, pup."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am not a pup!"

"Wha…" All of a sudden the owner of the voice stepped into the light and I saw what it was.

"You're a wolf like me!" I shouted happily, wagging my tail, before I lowered my shoulders and tucked my tail at the look of disbelief. "I mean… you're a wolf."

"You're a fox."

"Yeah. I kinda get that a lot." I replied. My ears perked once more. "How did you get captured?"

"None of your business." Was his gruff reply as he turned his back and laid back down in his dark, shadowy cage.

"Come on! It could give us clues to help us get out of here."

"Clues?"

"Yup."

"I was scrounging for scraps in the back of a house when I took a dart. Something in it knocked me out and I woke up here." He stated matter-of-fact.

"Aww… that doesn't give me much to go on." I sighed and sat with a thump. "How will I ever get back to my pack?"

"Pack?" The black wolf asked, turning his head towards me.

"Yeah! My pack."

"Foxes have packs?" Violet eyes were shown with curiosity.

"Not really… my wolf pack!"

"Your wolf pack?"

"Yeah, they took me in… I don't really remember because I was little, but my pack saved me from fox hunters. I have to go home to them somehow."

"Mmm."

"What about your pack? You have one, right? Or are you the lone wolf type?"

"I'm on my own." He replied sharply and it made me jump a little. I had the feeling… that something really sad happened to this wolf. I saw the sadness in his eyes.

I was silent for a little while. "We never introduced ourselves, I'm Tadomeka." I said. No reply. "Ya' know… I'll be here for awhile. Not like we're going anywhere… and I can be real annoying."

"Yuri." Was his gruff reply.

"Yuri? It's nice to meet you." I wagged my tail. "Don't worry… I'm gonna find some sorta way out of here. Then… you could come with me and my pack!"

"You're pretty confident… for a pup."

"Yeah, than-hey!" I shouted and gritted my teeth. Why that cocky, bug eyed jerk! (okay… so he wasn't bug eyed, but he was a jerk. And he was cocky)

I began to look for escape once more…

XxXxX

"Fail!" I cried and buried my face in between my paws.

"Huh?" He turned around again to face me once more, not that I cared. I failed. There was no way out of this cage. I felt like panicking.

"Well… truth is… I'm not… that confident."

"You act like you are."

"Sometimes…"

"Twenty minutes ago you were going to get us out, now you're saying you can't. You give up too easily. Just wait. The humans will bring food. At least we won't starve." Yuri said.

"Humans come in and give us food?" I asked quickly, ears perking.

"Uh-huh."

"We could get out if they open the doors!"

"I tried that. They just hit you with those shocky sticks."

"Eh? Yeah… we'll… there weren't two of us then."

"You're out of your mind!"

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too." Geeze, he was pretty fired up about this.

"Let's just agree, to disagree." I said and tuned my head to one side in annoyance. I heard a door open and then looked up to see the legs of a human. I looked back and forth quickly, hoping from paw to paw in an odd dance of nervousness. "Quick, Yuri! Act natural!"

"What?" He asked and stared, mouth agape. Yup, he thought I was crazy.

The human flicked on the light and walked over to a desk, before he picked up a bowl. I knew I had to think fast. He walked to my cage and put the bowl inside, unbeknownst to him, I feigned extreme hunger and discreetly knocked a couple bits of the food between the door.

So when the human let the door go, he didn't know it hadn't latched due to the food. He preceded to give food to Yuri, once the door was open I made a break for it and bit the human's leg.

"Run for it, Yuri!" I shouted through a mouthful of leg. Yuri jumped past the door, knocking the human over and we were out the swinging doors quickly.

I tied to stop, but slid across the smooth floor, right towards the man with the stick in his hands. I yelped and somehow managed to get past him, by running between his legs and kept going.  
>In his shock and turned to look at me, but in that Yuri knocked him into a wall and was right behind me.<p>

"Take a left!" Yuri yelled and we ran straight out the open back door. Freedom! Or at least I had though. The back here was caged in, it made me stop for a moment, but Yuri ran straight to the fence and started digging.

I watched the dirt fly and before I knew it he gabbed me by the scruff and shoved me through the hole and I was fee. He had to dig much bigger, because he was much bigger then me.

"Hurry, they human's are coming!" I yelled and started to help digging on the other side. The human grabbed him and he just managed to squeeze through the fence.

We bolted off down a hill and kept running. The humans were still after us, so there would be no stopping for awhile now.

XxXxX

After escaping that cage, Yuri and I were in a city. It had tons of life. Bunches of cars and people and a whole lot of different smells.

We stopped in an alleyway to rest for awhile. Wasn't sure where we were or what time it was, just that we were there.

"Thanks for the help, but I've gotta get out of here."

"What? But I thought we were sticking together." I quickly trotted up behind him.

"No, thanks."

"But… but… I… uhhh… I'm… scared… of being alone." I said sheepishly with my tail tucked and ears lowered. This stopped Yuri in his tracks.

"You have got to be kidding me." He groaned. "Just go back to your pack."

"Uhhhh…"

"What now?"

"I don't know how."

"You're lost aren't you?" He asked and sat down with an annoyed sigh.

"I'm not lost! I just… miscalculated my waypoint…"

"In other words you're lost."

"Yes!" I cried finally and dropped to the ground, burying my face in my paws. After a few moments of silence I sat up once more. "So I take it you're not gonna help me. Can we at least stick together until we get back to my pack?"

"Fine, fine. We'll stick together." He sighed and laid down, paws crossed. "So who'd ya tick off to get stuck in there?"

"Whadaya mean?" I asked. There was something odd going on here. I should have known from the start, should have known from the beginning.

"You don't know?" Yuri asked, raising his head from his paws to stare hard at me. "I'm saying… somebody betray you. Somebody got you put in here."

"Somebody… made those guys capture me?" This… was impossible. How could this be? I found myself unable to comprehend those words. "Gee… I-I don't know. I guess… this calls for an investigation, huh?"

"Don't bother. You'll never find out."

"I most certainly will."

"No, you won't."

"Will."

"Won't."

"Not this again! Okay, fine. You believe whatever you want to believe, I shall rub it in your face when I figure this out all by myself." I said, turning around so my back was to him. I came to a realization and my ears lowered. "Wait… Yuri… how did you know that? Does that mean somebody you knew had them come and-"

"I don't wanna talk about it." He replied briskly.

"I'm sorry." I told him. I wasn't so good at this, I didn't know what to say, but it wasn't like anything anybody could say would make it any better. "Hey… Yuri… how come you won't come with me if you don't have anywhere?"

"I just want to be alone."

"Okay. Maybe… you'll change your mind later, no?" I asked, trying to wag my tail and feigned happy. It didn't turn out so well. He looked so sad lying there and as scary as he was sometimes, he just looked like one of those you wanted to snuggle up to and try to comfort them. Although… it wasn't like that would happen anytime soon with his temper.

Did I also mention he looked like one of those that'd bite your face off if you got to close? No? well… I probably should have.

In the distance I heard the thunder rumble, before lightening streaked across the sky. I knew I had smelled the rain earlier.

"Hey, come on, Yuri… we should probably find somewhere we can get out of the rain." I warned and watched as he slowly, begrudgingly stood and fallowed me. Did I mention I had no idea where I was going? No. I bet I didn't. but I might as well keep that from Mr. Angry Pants.

Yes, yes. Welcome to the inner workings of my mind. A very… hectic place. Filled with thoughts of… things… and stuff. It just depended on the situation.  
>Another thing I thought of, was that we really needed to get some food later. I guess we'd have to go out somewhere and dig through some human trash. Yuck. I much preferred the wild turkey mother usually caught.<p>

Mother… the thought made me sad. I was so far away from her and even though Yuri was here I felt lonely without my dearest yuki fairy by my side. The light of my life (and occasionally the bane of my existence. All depending of course) was not here. It was a sad day indeed. I much enjoyed Mother's presence, no matter how much I was made fun of for it.

But that is all way off subject. Right now… we needed shelter from the storm. A large building awaited around the corner. It was run down and all sealed off. Except for the hole in the wall.  
>Yuri and I crawled through it, before stopping in the middle isle.<p>

"I have heard tell of such places… this is a house of the Lord, Yuri." I stated in awe. Humans, while not as smart as use, usually had places to worship, while we had our own.

Yuri curled up in a small ball underneath a table, while I sat by the carpet near the crucifix. I sat in wonder as I stared at it for awhile, before falling asleep under the vigilant and loving watch of the shepherd.

XxXxX

The next morning I opened one eye, before coming to fully and sitting up. The light from the stained glass window shined in, in blues, yellows and reds.  
>It was certainly a great way to wake up, but it'd be greater to wake up to had my family been there. However… maddening as it was, I was able to handle it. Somehow.<p>

In the corner of my eye I caught something scurrying under one of the pews. I gasped and stuttered.

"Holy shiznits! Yuri! It's a mouse!" I ran over to the little guy as he was lugging around some sort of… well… something.

"Ahh! Don't eat me!" The little guy yelled.

"I won't eat you. Who are you?" I asked.

"Robert, La Vinci the third." The little mouse replied.

"It's nice to meet you, Robert. I'm Tadomeka. And that giant over there is Yuri, but he probably won't tell you that." I whispered that last part, but still got a glare from the wolf under the table.

"May I ask what you two are doing in here?"

"Shelter from the rain." I answered.

"Ahh… and what better shelter then the house of our Father? Hmmm?"

"I know, crazy ironic, huh?" I asked, before stopping myself and clearing my throat. "I mean… yes sir. It is."

"Sir? My, my. Such a formality." He laughed. "if there is anything I can help you with, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Well… actually… I was thinking we needed to get some food."

"Oh… that is a tough one." The mouse said, rubbing his chin with tiny paws. "You could try the market. There are kind humans willing to drop food."

"I don't know if that will work. I guess we could try… hey-wait, Yuri!" I shouted. "Sorry, Robert, sir! I have to go. Is it okay if we hang out here for awhile?"

"By all means go ahead! When you get back you can meet my brother!" Robert shouted after us. I nodded and quickly ran after Yuri.

I didn't know why, or what was calling me. Only that something told me to stick by Yuri's side for some reason or another. I guess I figured… he'd need my help sooner or later. I wouldn't abandon him, because that just wasn't how I rolled.

I finally caught up to him and watched as he jumped up onto a cart, before he knocked it over and grabbed a knapsack full of food and running off with it. An angry shopkeeper ran after him with a broom, getting in a few good hits that made a nasty smack sound.

I froze when the shopkeep looked at me, anger burning behind his eyes.

"Shiznits." I muttered, before running off another way. Luckily I missed any beating from the awful looking broom. I paused in an alleyway and found Yuri sitting, waiting. "Hey, I found you. Yuri! You stole food!"

"Out here, it's do or die." He bit out and I cautiously sat in front of him. "Let's go." He picked up the knapsack and headed back towards the church.

"Sheez… hey. I saw ya' get hit with the broom, Yuri. Did that hurt?"

"Greatly." He replied, muffled with his jaws holding the food, continuing on. I trotted after him and as we got inside the church we were greeted by a family of mice!

Oh, you could say I was excited. I was beyond! Yuri was just kind of… oh, I don't know, Yuri was Yuri like always. An uninterested, 'hn' escaped him.

"Wow! Ya' didn't have to role out the welcome wagon ya' know?" I asked and Robert tsked.

"Nonsense! I love to do this. We never get visitors, let alone friendly ones. We greatly welcome you two into our loving family."

"Hey, we got enough food right, Yuri… well you did. Right?"

"Plenty." Yuri replied, spreading it out on the floor. "You're our hosts, please. Help yourself."

"Ah, but we are in the house of our Father. We shall share equally." Robert said, smiling brightly. "You never really said where you were from."

"Well… I'm from my pack and Yuri is… uhh… Yuri?" I shrugged. I really had no clue.

"We are very happy to have you here, my dears." Another mouse spoke up.

"Ah, this is my lovely wife, Rose." Robert said, a proud grin with the slight twitch of whiskers. I couldn't help but grin and laugh. It was so great to meet this great mice.

So… fox, wolf and mice eat dinner together, in the warmth of a church on a cold rainy night. Wasn't that a story to tell? After that Robert dragged out a small cloth, inside held something that smelled heavenly.

"Behold," Robert stated. "We were saving them for a special occasion, but now is very special."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Cookies!" Robert laughed happily. I couldn't help but grin again at Robert's smile. Watching Robert with his small family though… it sort of made me miss mine as well. Although… I had to admit… being away from their crazyness had it's perks.

I glanced over to find Yuri sitting in a corner by himself, so I picked up a cookie and trotted over, dropping it in front of him and nudging it forwards with my nose.

"Here ya' go." I said, but he didn't look up or move. "Hey… you know, Yuri… a long time ago my sister Rin told me something… Love is knowing and accepting you couldn't go on breathing without that one and only person in your life; that makes you self-conscious and completely loved and adored all at once; knowing when to say that you are wrong or sorry because you respect that person too much to leave them feeling uncertain; feeling that love-flutter still after being with them for so long you can't remember not having them in your life; knowing you would take a bullet or a blade for them to keep them safe from harm; feeling pain when you know they are hurting and you would do anything to make them feel better; love is eternal, all encompassing, and the only thing that ultimately matters in life." I paused, watching his ears twitch to indicate he HAD heard me. "She told me that. It was… a long time go… before… well… just before things changed. you felt that way about somebody, right? But… they betray you. I know… I know how it feels. Yuri… what happened?"

"You want to know so bad? Fine. My family was killed off by humans, because what? Why? What was the reason? Yes, wolves kill cattle, but how else are we suppose to live? It's not like we hurt the humans! We never have! We have just a much right to strive and survive in this world as they do!" He stood up, teeth bared in anger. "For all I care, all humans can die. My family lies dead out in some field now and for what? Tell me why?"

"Hey… it's okay, Yuri." I said, trying to calm him. Okay… maybe I was a little scared of the yelling.

"Then… then I came here. I wanted to start a new life and honor my family, but those damn bandits… I ran with them… I thought they could be my family, but they traded me in so that they wouldn't get caught! The cowards!" He dropped back to the ground, lying his head on his paws and breathing heavily.

I cautiously stepped closer and laid my chin on top of his head. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it, but… Yuri the impenetrable… was crying.

"I just want them back," His voice was so broken, it brought tears to my eyes.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be fine, Yuri. I know it's probably going to make you rip your hair out, but I'm here. Huh?" I listened to a broken sobbing laugh. I felt so bad for Yuri, but I couldn't make him feel better.

XxXxX

I stayed up all night, right besides Yuri and after a full night of crying, he seemed a little different. I didn't really know how, but I thought maybe it was a good thing.

"Tadomeka… thanks. Ya' didn't have to sit next to me." Yuri said, I could tell he was embarrassed about crying in front of me, but who wouldn't be, really?

"Don't worry. As long as you're feeling better it was worth it."

"Better. In a way. Yes." Yuri sighed then. "Look, kit… I figured I'd stay and help ya' catch whoever put you in that place."

"Really? Hey, that's awfully decent of you, Yuri!" I barked in a laugh. "See? You can be nice."

"Let's start with those who might hate you." He stated and my tail tucked between my legs.

"Actually… the list might be shorter if we name those who like me."

"That might be true." He smirked and I flicked him in the face with my tail, before heading outside. Yuri chuckled, following close behind. "Let's be serious."

"I am serious!"

"Yes, but who hates you enough to put you in that place?"

"Hmmm… I can think of a few…" I trailed.

"We'll start there then."

"Yeah. Let's get started searching, I've got to start where I was taken from." I stated and with that Yuri and I started on our journey.

XxXxX

On the road, Yuri and I crossed a bridge to a small town. Who knew where, but we paused when we came to a small shop. We walked by it, where human music was playing.

"Hey, it's kinda catchy, huh, Yuri?" I laughed and he scoffed. I paused when I saw the wolf down the road and in an instance I took off in a sprint. "Arikamifu-Onee-sama!" I shouted.

"Tadomeka!"

The two of us quickly stopped before crashing into one another. I was ecstatic to see a family member, my tail was wagging like crazy.

"Where is everybody? Are they alright?" I asked quickly and she nodded.

"Fine, but what about you?" She asked, then glanced at Yuri.

"I'm okay. Arikamifu, this is Yuri. He helped me escape." I cleared my throat. "And, Yuri, this is my sister in law. My Onii-sama's wife."

He nodded in acknowledgement as did Arikamifu. I didn't know what to ask first, I had so many questions.

"Everybody has been so worried." She stated.

"What about Ma' and the boys?" I asked.

"Worried sick as you'd imagine. Mimotaku has been going insane trying to look for you."

"Ah, good old Nii-sama." I laughed. "I should have guessed. Everybody is safe at home, huh?"

"Yes. We should get a head start. It'll be dark soon and you know how cold it gets."

"Actually… I can't come home yet. I found out… somebody had me put in that place. I can't go home until I find them and put a stop to them with Yuri."

"I'll come with you. Nobody messes with my little sister."

"No. you can't. you have to let only our most trusted family members know I'm safe. Especially Ma' and Nii-sama. As soon as I find who did this, I'll come home. I promise."

"Right. I better get started. Good luck and be safe, Tadomeka." She told me, giving me a brief hug, before starting off down the road towards home.

"Good. I'll be a lot more focused now, know that they're not worried about me." I sighed in content, head lowered slightly. "we should continue on."

XxXxX

Once we arrived at the place I'd been captured at, I suppressed a shudder. It was still a little worrisome, I half expected to get thrown into the back of another truck.  
>I sniffed around the area for a little while, and when I caught the scent my head snapped up. I quickly caught onto it and fallowed it, but I was stopped by the rushing river.<p>

"Damn." I stated. "I recognize the smell, but… I just can't place it! Arg. This is irritating."

"At least you recognize it." He replied, stopping besides me and staring across to the water. "So somebody crossed this somehow to stop you from tracking them? Smart."

"Yeah. It'll be a lot harder to track them then I expected."

"Could it have been any of your family?"

"Lets clear this up, Yuri… wolves related to me. Not family. They don't want me as family, so that's fine by me. Much as certain wolves in it hate me, they wouldn't have done it. At least… I don't think. Ma', Nii-sama and Onee-sama would have murdered em' if they had." I paced back and forth. "Mmm… I have to find out the truth!"

"Hey, what about your sister Rin? You said something about before? What'd you mean?" Yuri asked.

"Naw." I stated. "I only meant by before that things had changed. she just turned into a different person from when I knew her. They all told me I was the one that changed, when in reality, they were the ones that changed."

"Alright. We can cross your family off the list then. How about anybody else?"

"That's gonna take some time to think about. A lot of people want me dead for my preaching."

"The fox minister. Interesting one to be traveling with, since I'm not exactly the church going type. But don't worry. I won't attack you for preaching."

"I appreciate that. And don't worry here. I can see it in your eyes, Yuri. You've got a good heart and you're a lot like me."

"What do you mean, kit?" He asked, slightly defensively.

I sighed and sat down, while staring at him. "Someone may make me laugh, and I may actually be a little happy. But when I'm alone, the pain comes back and I realize that no one truly knows how I feel." I said, watching him twitch "But you know. You know all too well, because you're just like me."

"Hypothetically say that's true… why does that matter?"

"Why doesn't it?" I got up and started back towards the town. "Come on, Yuri. Let's go. I want to find this rat and go home."

I didn't look back at Yuri and I realized at that moment that the thing wrong was that he really could feel. He just was so conditioned not to feel that he couldn't recognize feelings when he had them. I couldn't fix it, that was something he had to do alone. Just like I did and still was.

XxXxX

The next morning on the trail and hunt for the wolf that tried to have me killed, Yuri had been silent, up until now.

"What did you mean by what you said back there?" He asked.

"Exactly what I said. You're a lot like me." I stated firmly.

"How?"

"You could say it all started with my dad." I laughed nervously. "Any emotion of any kind was a weakness. Any slight slip up was an epic failure. If you made a wrong move or said the wrong thing, I'd get beat. So I learned to hide everything. Look… I'll admit I have let it make me somewhat angry, but it's just too hard of a thing to forget. I just feel... betrayed by him. Somewhere deep in my heart, even though he was abusive he's still my dad. I know it had to be done. He had to be kicked out of the pack, because he was a danger to us all. Happy?"

"Oh." He said quietly, lowering his head. I didn't want him to feel bad for asking, but most of all… I didn't want pity.

"But, don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I've been fine, so let's hurry up and capture this wolf. And if you want… my offer still stands. You can stay with us, 'cause let's face it, being alone sucks." I stated, swiping him in the face with my tail, before starting forward again.

"Ow." Yuri complained, sprinting after me. We both froze when we saw a grey wolf happily eating in front of the shop we passed earlier. I didn't know if this wolf was dangerous or not.

"Hi there. Fellow wolf." I stated and Yuri poked me, before going still again. The wolf looked at us then and for one short moment I didn't know what to think, before she smiled brightly.

"Hi there." She said and Yuri and I let out I breath I didn't know we were holding in.

"The name's Tadomeka." I told her, with a small grin.

"Tokimi." She replied kindly and my jaw was dropped, before Yuri poked me again.

"Right, very good to meet you my friend. My friend and I were wondering if maybe you could help us. You see… we're looking for somebody."

"Sure. If I can."

My jaw dropped once more and once more Yuri bumped with his shoulder, so I finally bumped him back with annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so unused to suck niceness!" I shouted finally and both gave me odd looks at the statement. "Uhh… anyways… since I'm done embarrassing myself. We're looking for any wolves that have been through here lately. Anybody suspicious looking. Like they were up to no good, ya know?"

"Well… about a week ago there was this one brownish wolf. She stopped by the shop here and we also heard that a fox got into the chicken coop down the road. So the hunters came and went fox hunting." She stated.

Yuri and I, with jaws dropped looked at one another suddenly.

"That must be it! That must be how I got framed!" I said and quickly turned back to the other wolf. "Ok… so… what made that wolf you were talking about so suspicious?"

"Well… she just had a look about here. Avoided everybody… was really jittery too." She stated. "Hey, would you guys like to stay? We've got cookies."

My ears twitched and my jaw dropped again. Did I mention this was the nicest wolf I ever met? No? well she was. As it turned out, there was an old open cellar underneath the shop that we all were able to relax in.

So we ended up staying at the place. It was a great time to be honest. No stress and for once I could relax without worrying about any sort of threat. And I also found, while we were very different, we had a lot in common. Including a love of cookies.

XxXxX

We had been staying and searching for clues since, talking about it all three of us made a decision.

"We need to check out that chicken farm and see if there was anything left that could point to whoever did this to frame our friend." Yuri said.

"Right." I agreed.

"You didn't let me finish…" Yuri said, annoyed.

"Uhh… whoops. Continue." I said then and watched him sigh deeply.

"You can't go with. If the farmer sees you there you'll get caught again. So I'll go and check the farm and Tokimi will check into info on that wolf. We'll split up and cut time."

"Right. What do I do?" I asked and he stared hard at me. "What…?"

"You stay here."

"No fair!" I shouted and Yuri gave a warning growl.

"No. I won't put you in unnecessary danger. Stay put until we get back and then we'll track this wolf down and put an end to all this madness." Yuri stated firmly and my eyes softened.

"Yuri…" I said in surprise. I nodded then. "Right… I'll just look around town then. We can meet back here."

"Good." He said and headed off.

"Good luck." Tokimi said and smiled big, before heading off down the road. I sighed and glanced from one way to the other. I'd better get started.

It was quiet today. I couldn't only hear the soft tap of my paws in the dry dirt. I picked up my pace into a trot and before long I'd stopped in front of another shop in the tiny town.  
>To my horror… I saw two wolves from my past. I didn't know to be happy, sad or worried. I made to back up, but then stopped.<p>

No. I couldn't run from my past. My jaw tightened in determination as I stood there and before long the two noticed me. Pure shock was in ones eyes, the other… a speck of hatred.

"Tadomeka…"

"Meshi… Zudoari-onii-san…" I said, keeping a careful watch on Meshi.

"Isn't this a surprise." Meshi started, stepping a step closer. I caught the glint of her fangs and my back hunched slightly, prepared for anything.

"Back off alright. I… I've got friends here. I want nothing to do with your pack and their witchcraft." I stated. I didn't step back or move from my place.

"You really shouldn't assume things, you should pass that advice on to some others." She stated, venom dripping off every word.

"Leave my family out if this." I growled, fangs bared. My Onii-san only sat there, not saying a word. I didn't even know if he was listening or if he even cared.

"And here it comes. you will go on another psychotic rant."

"Why? Because I believe in God? Hate to break it to ya' but there's nothing psychotic about God."

"Please. Your so called God forced you to believe in him or else you burn in hell? Sounds to me like he's just some controlling psycho. Even if there were a god I would choose not to fallow him. I'm 99.9 percent perfect and therefore, better then this so called 'god'." Meshi said.

"You take that back." I said, growling more. "Nobody is that perfect. Not even me."

"It's sick. I hope you and your family can get some real help. I feel bad for you, I do, but you are capable of making your own decisions and what I have seen from you is not things a good person would do or say. Manipulation gets you what you want now, but destroys your future."

"Talk to me about manipulation when you stop manipulating my Onii-san!" I shouted. "I've been nothing, but nice for you my entire life even after you treated me like mud under your boot the entire time I was only a pup. But I'm done being nice."

"So am I." She growled as well, her own shoulders hunching as she prepared to attack. I glanced at my brother with a sad look. I wonder if he saw the pain or if he even cared about his family.

"Go ahead. You can have the first bite." I stated, and that was it. She pounced and bit into my shoulder, before tossing me to the dirt with a snarl. "I'll show you God does exist." I said firmly, standing up shakily.

"Fight back, coward!"

"Not…" I yelped as she bit me again. "Until Nii-san understands… that Ma only told you about God's law… because she was worried about you." I took another bite to the shoulder and winced.

Finally my brother stepped forward. "She's the one that created all of this, and its not just about the law, it was how and why she did it, and how she acted when we confronted her about it, and all the lies and bullshit that were made up after, and it continues, and still no apology, no remorse, nothing, how can you do that to someone, let alone your child, I would never do that to my children."

"Then you-" I growled when Meshi dug razor sharp claws into me. "Don't understand! She told you… because she loves you… and there were no lies. All was truth. All that happened, I don't know where you were, but… everything was the truth."

I was tossed into the side of the building and I coughed up blood, staring into the dirt that now mixed with my blood. I might have been scared, but… I had God right besides me. So I held no fear in my heart.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I quoted scripture and I swore Meshi's eyes turned black at my words, as she grabbed my with teeth and tossed me again. It hurt to hit the hard ground, but I wouldn't give up.

I stood once more and look directly at my brother.

"That's how this started, I was trying to get family together in hard times and mom draws a line, saying you Christians are on one side, and Meshi and her "non Christians" are on the other side, that she's dragging me into hell and whatnot, Meshi and Rose are my family."

"Then you're the one lying. She never said a word like that. She was trying to tell you witchcraft was bad, because that's what the Lord says. If you don't practice it… then you have nothing to worry about." I howled when Meshi bit me again. "If… you don't practice… then you have nothing to be offended by!"

Meshi tossed me once more, before my own brother slammed into me full force and dug his teeth into my throat. It hurt far more then anything Meshi had done by far. He lifted me and tossed me several feet and I felt some ribs break.  
>I much preferred the physical pain compared to the break I felt in my heart.<p>

"I have come to realize that liars do not fear the truth if there are enough liars. That the devil is just one man with a plan, but evil, true evil, is a collaboration of men, which is what we have here today. If I am a guilty person, my crime is in daring to believe; that the truth will out and that no one lie can live forever. I believe it still. Much as you try to bury it, the truth is out there. Greater than your lies, the truth wants to be known. You will know it. It'll come to you, as it's come to me, faster than the speed of light.  
>You may believe yourselves rid of your headache now, and maybe you are... but you've only done it by cutting off your own heads." (does anybody recognize this line? Cookies for who does!)<p>

"So now I'm a lair?"

"Yeah, Nii-san… I guess that's what I'm saying."

"I don't even know what to say about any of this shit, just keeps getting weirder and weirder. When is the last time you had a conversation where you didn't say the word god, Jesus, or Satan? You need to seek some professional help, and I'm not talking bout from Jesus. I'm just worried that you're going to join some crazy religious cult or something."

"God is Lord and Jesus is my savior! If that is a crime to say, then put me to death, brother." I said firmly, standing once more and wincing.

He went silent after that and before I had another chance Meshi attacked me again and her fangs sunk deep past the protective fur. My vision blurred and I thought that this was a funny way to end it. I always thought my brother would be the one to finish it, but I guess it made sense that Meshi did it.

"Tadomeka… you want to know who set you up? It was me. I killed those chickens to frame you… and once I'm done with you… your family is next."

My eyes grew wide and I struggled to fight, weakly. Nobody touched my family, I managed to bite into her leg and she howled in pain, before biting me once again.

"Tadomeka!" I heard the shout and then both Meshi and my brother ran off. I guess they were afraid of outsiders.

I would have got up and ticked Yuri off with some smart commented, but I couldn't move. I didn't want to move. Not because my body was broken, but because my heart was broken.

My big brother. My Nii-san. When… had he become this? When had he become so filled with hatred. The brother I knew… he was always gentle. He was always firm and believe in justice. This wolf that had torn into my heart so deeply… this was not my brother.

"Tadomeka?" I heard the voice, closer now. Right next to my ear. It made it twitch slightly, being so close and all.

"Yuri… go away. Just let me lie for a little while." Against my orders, Yuri picked me up by the scruff carefully and carried me back to the old shop.

XxXxX

"Why would you do something so reckless!" Yuri asked. I just laid there on the soft pillow and stared at him. "You can't get through to people like that. You should have given up and walked away."

"It's a daily scenario I can't close my eyes to. If we make a choice and be a voice, how many lives could we save? Now… is the time to pick a side. We've gotta try and change the world, Yuri. One wolf at a time. Even if death is what awaits, because beyond death… is our true home."

"Tadomeka…"

"He's my Nii-san, Yuri. I can't… give up. If I can plant a single seed that could possibly grow… then I'll do it. No matter how much it hurts. Because I love my family. I need them to know God exist and that… it's not all make-believe. John 16:33."

"I'm not even kidding. This is crazy and insane, and you can't take this, Tadomeka. I know you love your family and all, but God does not want you to do this to yourself. You're FIRST priority is to SERVE HIM and not to try and save people who are so far gone and lost they are physically injuring you." Tokimi stated, stepping forward.

"She's right, Tadomeka." Yuri said and I nodded the best I could.

"I know. I know… I just… can't give up. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"but you keep talking about planting seeds, and I just think you need to let it cool for a while. Just let it go. You can plant seeds just by praying, and it's not your job to save them. If it's in God's plan for them to be saved, it will happen SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY. You need to let yourself heal for a while."

Both Yuri and I looked up at her words. I smiled and nodded again, lying my head down on the pillow again. I had a throbbing headache now was not the time to be looking anywhere. So I closed my eyes.

"I know… I just hate feeling useless."

"But you DO have power. I don't think you understand. Prayer is more powerful than words, than witness, than anything you could ever do physically. You think you can reach your family by talking to them? Try prayer. It's ten times better. And don't just pray for their salvation, pray AGAINST the lies they're being told. Prayer can do things you would not believe, and what's a relationship where nobody speaks? God wants to hear from you. Even if He already knows what's on your mind, He wants to hear it."

I chuckled. "Imooto-sama has powerful speeches. Oww…" I winched, shifting slight to try and keep my ribs from aching. "You're both right, but… Meshi… she was the one that framed me. So… where does that leave me?"

Both Yuri and Tokimi glanced at one another in horror. It was a shock to them, but… surprisingly… I hadn't been quiet so shocked. She hated me for some reason or another… and so did my brother. So it left my heart feeling empty.

"I'll stop her." Yuri stated.

"No." I said suddenly. "She's too powerful. She has her pack backing her the whole way… and my brother. I can't let him get hurt."

"She'll do something worse next time if we don't!"

"I know. That's why… we're gonna wait for me to heal. Then I'm going to stop her."

"No, way!" Yuri yelled.

"I have to agree with Yuri-sensei. You can't. it's too dangerous."

"That's why I'm gonna wait 'til I'm healed. I will stop her… from hurting my family. No matter the costs."

"Then we'll be right there besides you." Yuri said, interrupting anything Tokimi would say. Thought I'm sure she was gonna say the same thing. Nobody would stop me from putting an end to the madness.

I would stop her… even if I was killed. I smirked at the thought. Sounded like a good way to go. Good… and honorable. Protecting my family. Heh. Who thought it might end that way? I was no hero… and I didn't know if I could do this by myself, but I knew… I couldn't let Yuri or Imooto-sama get hurt here.

"Onwards Christian soldier… marching off to war." I stated softly, before I fell asleep into the darkness that I knew awaited.

XxXxX

As soon as I was well enough I was on my feet and out the door, with a cookie in mouth of course. I swallowed it down and wiped the crumbs away with a paw.

"Ready to finish this guys?" I asked and both nodded. I put on my best smile. "Let's go be heroes and save the forest, huh?" I said it with a laugh and while Imooto-sama laughed, Yuri sighed and pressed a paw over his eyes. It was time to try and play hero. God gives me the strength… to save my family. "He's got the whole world, in his hands. He's got the whole world… in his hands… he's got the whole world… in his hands. He's got the wolf world in his hands."

I smiled knowing that the words were true. Either way it ended… everything would be just fine.

XxXxX

with a brief yawn, I padded along a small path and we came to the river that separated our land from that of the witches and monsters.

A little fear made it's way into my heart, but I took a deep breath and knew as long as God was with me I'd do just fine. So we crossed the river together and headed towards the mountain in the distance. Maybe my journey would end there… or maybe it would just begin, but either way… I knew something big was going to happen, but… I was okay with that, because God knew what he was doing and I trusted him.

That night… I feel asleep under the stars besides my companions. It had been a long and weary road for me. I wouldn't give up, I would protect my family… even at the cost of my own life.  
>In my dreams… memories invaded my mind…<p>

I saw my sister Rin there… and an overwhelming sadness in my heart. I wondered… why have you forsaken me? In your eyes forsaken me, in your thoughts forsaken me, in your heart forsaken me.

"I don't want and never have wanted any bad blood between us. I am trying to understand you. I am speaking gently to you, not condescending, so please have an open mind and try to understand that I really am trying to help you.  
>I imagine you came to a fork in the road not very long ago, and you accidentally veered off in the wrong direction. You meant to take the fork that promised deep and fulfilling spirituality, but the one you accidentally stumbled on was more akin to a radical shouting preacher fork. You have quite radical look to it, in the way you say things and approach them. Faith should be a personal thing, a very precious personal identity that you hold close. Not hard-core bible thumping Christians. Stop worrying about everyone else's salvation. That's between them and God. We're all going to find out all the secrets in the end, so relax. I love you."<p>

I knew that road I was one, I knew what I was doing. In some points she was right, but in most others she was wrong. My mind screamed Matthew 7:5 and Matthew 5:15. She was incorrect. Faith was not just a personal thing, what she was doing was hiding her light under a basket.

"You never cared to hear the other side, so why would you care to keep this thing alive? You made me into the memory of all your pain, but I will not be drawn into the past again, 'cause all of this is all that I can take. And you could never understand the demons that I face.  
>I never meant for you to feel this way. It's not a question of who is wrong and what is right, but time cannot heal what you will never recognize.<br>So go ahead and cry, go ahead believe that you were right. To keep away the dark, to help you sleep tonight. So go on decided, who is wrong what is right. 'cause you know inside."

XxXxX

I could still hear them yelling at me inside my mind. Inside my dreams, my brother, my Onii-san. The anger in his eyes was devilish.

"I'm ready to depart this crazy train you are driving, I miss the person you used to be before you started down this fucked up path in life. You were once our little baby sister. loving and caring and now your heart is filled with lies and deception. You have lost touch with reality. You are only hurting the ones who love you. you say you are a Christian. I am not, but I do know that the shit you have been doing between our family would NOT be approved by God. You are a sinner. You are in love with drama. We will NEVER be a family... probably never again, unless you close-minded evangelists accept others views on life. Good Christians are even embarrassed by your behavior. I do not judge anyone for their beliefs. I think its important to believe in something, but trying to force your beliefs on others is just fucked up. You have hurt the ones who love you. Rin is so hurt from the pain that you have caused her. She is trying to deal with a lot of shit right now. I have tried to be nice and edit myself but I've had enough and I will no longer edit my thoughts. Let the sin begin. mwhahahaha!"

His words burned my heart, we would never be family. I already knew I was an outcast to begin with, but actually hearing the words… it broke my heart. It ripped it from my chest. Although he would never seen me cry, I wondered if he would even care if he knew that he made me cry. Brother… why have you forsaken me?

I would never be one of them. I had no family. I was… alone, abandon, hated, despised and broken. I ony wanted to know why… I knew it wasn't true, but I felt as if God himself had forsaken me to the depth of hell.

"I love you guys, I love you so much... but... I can't bring myself to understand why my love is one-sided. Damnit, I love you guys so much it hurts! I mean really hurts. Please, just tell me what I've done to make you hate me so much!" It was the question I had asked, but I never received an answer. "Once I called you brother, once I thought the chance to make you laugh was all I ever wanted. And even now I wish that God had chose another. Serving as your foe on His behalf is the last thing that I wanted. This was my home. All this pain and devastation… how it tortures me inside."

That was the last conversation I had with any of them up until the recent encounter with Nii-san and the witch.

XxXxX

I woke up the next morning with a deep sigh. A slight feel of depression in my heart. It felt heavy, like a dead weight in my chest. It didn't matter anyway. We had to continue on ahead and end this all. A few minutes of walking in silence and out of nowhere Imooto-sama hugged me.

"Hey, what's that for?" I asked.

"You looked kind of sad."

"Actually…" I trailed, but shook my head and chuckled. "I do feel better now. Thanks, Imooto-sama."

"Anytime, Onee-sama." She replied, grinning happily. It never failed, Imooto-sama could cheer me up no matter what. Without her… I would be seriously depressed right about now. Another blessing of the Lord, and we met over cookies. The Lord had a funny sense of humor.

The smile was wiped off my face when I saw Arichi running towards us. It was impossible, I never thought I would see him again.

"Tadomeka!" Arichi shouted, coming to a stop. "We've got a big problem!"

"Problem?" I asked in shock. "What do you mean? what problem?"

"The wolves of Mt. Nemok. They're preparing an army. They're going to march on the forest, our scouts picked it up. Their numbers as unbelievable."

"An army…? They're going to… take over?"

"Yes, your mother told me to inform you." He replied easily and I looked down for a moment, before looking back up at Arichi. "And… your Onii-san showed up…"

"What? What happened?"

"Your Nii-sama is sick again…"

"He's…" My ears lowered again. Last time he had gotten sick he almost died. "Why was he there?"

"He wanted to visit… in case he doesn't make it this time." Arichi told me and I nodded slowly.

"Right… then… you can head back… Arichi."

"I am. We're preparing to defend the forest. Take care in your journey." Arichi said, before running off the way he had come.

"They're planning to take over?" Yuri asked, baring his fangs. "Damn! What are we going to do!"

"Isn't it obvious? We have to stop them." I said, taking a deep breath. "Are you guys still with me?"

"Of course we are." Imooto-sama and Yuri assured me.

"We need to stop them before they get there. Even if I have to go in alone."

After awhile we came to the river and I knew this would be it. We would cross this river and there would be no way back. We all split up, planning to meet back up before crossing. We needed to scout the area first.

I froze mid-step when I heard a voice, louder then a thousand rushing rivers, louder then the loudest boom of thunder call my name. I dropped into the a low bow, unable to move. Fear made s shiver run down my spin, but it wasn't a bad fear. It was… a wonderful fear and I never felt so loved in my life. The voice told me not to be afraid.

I was able to look up, and before me in the sky, the clouds had parted. Open to a million colors I had never seen before. I was taken there and shown a blanket, a quilt with lines of stitches. Without words… a hand was brought over the blanket… and I saw that every single stitch was important and without one stitch the blanket would fall apart.

God… was telling me I was important. I had something very important to do. I knew what I needed to do… it was a difficult decision, but if God commanded it… I had to listen.

Coming back to myself I looked around and found myself back at the river side. I noticed Imooto-sama and Yuri running up behind me, I stood up slowly and sighed.

"I know what I have to do." I stated and they glanced at one another in surprise. "God has spoken to me… I… will lead an army… to destroy the wickedness of the witches."

"Including your brother?" Yuri asked and I closed my eyes tightly.

"If that is what God commands… then I shall do it. I cannot disobey my Lord." I replied. "I only wonder where I am going to find an army…"

"God will provide." Yuri assured me and I nodded.

"Yes, I know. Let's go. We've got work to do." I said and started across the river. This weighed heavily on my mind. I was no leader, how could I command an army?

XxXxX

We stopped for rest for a few moments under the shade of a tree. My ears twitched at the familiar huffing sound, I raised my head and came face to face with a great grizzle. It roared in my face and I jumped back, barely avoided giant paws, equipped with razor sharp claws.

"You. Are. Trespassing!" The grizzle shouted at me and Yuri and Imooto-sama backed me up.

"I have to cross the land." I said strongly, planting my paws firmly into the dirt beneath me. The bear charged at me and I doged him, before jumping onto his back and biting into his fur.

The bear roared and tried to shake me off, to no avail. I bit deeper into his fur and he growled loudly, calling to his aid another great grizzle. I was so surprised that I was tossed off of the bear and into the dirt.

"Well, well… grizzle wrestler…" The bear said as another stepped up besides him. I bared my teeth and growled. "You've earned my respected. No lone fox attacks a grizzle. Tell me… what is it you are doing here?"

"God has commanded that I march on Mt. Nemok." I told him.

The grizzle paused and raised his eyebrows. "Mt. Nemok? With what army?""

"Whatever army God shall provide for me." I stated and the bear stared hard at me.

"Those immoral witches. You shall destroy them all?"

"Indeed."

"Then we shall join your army." The bear stated. "Those wolves. They have sinned against nature and against God. Their sins cannot go unpunished. They are as immoral as Sodom, maybe worse."

"You will join us?" I asked, allowing my stance to relax.

"Yes. We have allies and we will call upon them."

My left eye twitched slightly and I wondered how. Yuri stepped up behind me and laughed as the bears headed back to get their recruits.

"I guess we've got that army." He stated and I nodded.

"Yuri… Imooto-sama… I want you two as my generals…" I told them and they both nodded as well. In the distance I looked up at Mt. Nemok and watched the green smoke paint the sky.

Later that night the bears arrived and we all met up underneath an old willow tree. The air was lit up by the dozens of lightning bugs that floated through the air.  
>With both my generals on either side of me I watched as the bears moved through the trees, several wolves, a few owls and squirrels chipmunks and foxes.<p>

I never would have expected such an army. I took a deep breath at the sight, I didn't know how to lead an army. I didn't know how. God tell me how. I didn't know how to lead an army, if I were too meek and didn't make hard decisions, these animals would die. I would have to order them and some of them would die, no matter how hard I tired to protect them. I would have to put aside my feelings for this battle.

"Here is your army, Fox. From now on you shall be called Dovnaftali bear wrestler." The bear told me, gesturing towards the waiting animals behind him. "Give it all you've got, Fox." He said, sitting besides me.

"My brothers and sisters… do you hear the voice? The voice that sings inside of you?" I asked glancing around carefully. "I stand before you to ask that you follow, not me, but God. The wolves of Mt. Nemok are corrupt and unclean. These militant atheist seek to break us. They want to take our freedom away! And you know that freedom does not come free. They want to take God away, but they cannot take God form us, because God will never leave or forsake us.

Their evil is slowly spreading across the forest. It is Sodom and Gomorra all over again. We must stop them… we may die for this cause… but we will die with the honor of serving God to death. You all know that God would not request such a thing unless there were pure evilness in this place. We must shed our blood to stem the flood of an impending invasion! So tell me… will you stand by me?"

"We are with you, Dovnaftali!" A wolf shouted and a cheer went up amongst the army.

"Then tonight we march on Mt. Nemok!" The grizzle to my right shouted and all the animals let out cheers. "Then let us go now!"

Thunder crashed across the sky, leaving lighted streaks and thunder boomed and rumbled. Lightning had started a fire that raged even under the rain. The sound of running steps picked up as we were spotted by the sentries.

"Get them!" A bear yelled and slammed into a wolf, it howled as it fell to it's doom. More wolves were coming to combat us and in a flurry a fur and glinting fangs the two sides clashed with what seemed to me a sickening cracking of bones against bones.

Wolves against wolves, it seemed so wrong to me. We were brothers, yet they had decided that they needed to be the dominate ones. We could have lived together. We could have, but… they were too stubborn and stuck in their own ways.

"They have the high ground! What should we do!" Yuri asked, tossing a wolf off his back and biting into another.

My eyes darted around, before I caught onto the rocks. Brilliant. I bolted and ran underneath the battle, due to being so small and jumped towards the small incline far above. I slammed into the rock, but it barely budged. This was not good.

I slammed into the rock again and again, before I heard a growl behind me. It was the grizzle.

"Step outta the way, Fox! This is my specialty." The bear growled, before slamming into the rock, the rocks fell down, rolling and crushing a few of the wolves and blocking off their reinforcements. The wolves were trapped, but the fire was behind them as well. It would soon wipe them out.

Yuri was at my side once again as he went around the side and started up the mountain, several wolves and a bear behind us. I had entrusted the main set of forces to Imooto-sama. She would keep the others off our backs.

"There! Meshi is running away! That coward!" I shouted in anger, we started after her, but we were ambushed.

The bear that had been behind us yowled as he was taken down and I slammed a paw into the dirt as I rammed into a wolf and it went over the cliff.

"It's not your fault!" Yuri told me. "You have to keep going. Go on now! We'll hold them off! You have to stop Meshi!"

I nodded and left them to the fight, I had no choice. With every jumped and leap I could feel cold mud splashing onto my fur, but I barely felt the sting anymore. I needed to stop Meshi and stop this. I gritted my teeth and as I jumped up onto the top I saw her. She had run herself into a cliff.

"Let's end this now." I told her firmly, fangs bared, I stepped forward, but when I stepped in a puddle I looked down. It wasn't rain, it was blood. I followed the trail and my eyes lowered. "Nii-san… and… Rose… you… you… how could you?"

They were both injured and stunned. I would never be able to forgive her for such an act… I could be pushed around and injured and hurt, but nobody messed with my family. It had been the reason I had stood against her all this time, because I knew she would do such a thing.

"You can't stop me! You'll never be able to stop me!" Meshi shouted at me and I glared.

"I will stop you. You are guilty for crimes against our law, Meshi!"

"You really are stupid if you think you can stop me."

"Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." I stated, staring hard at her. "You will be stopped."

I waited as her anger boiled, I knew her too well. It was coming. Just as expected she charged at me, but all I had to do was avoid it, claws raked my shoulder regardless. Lightning struck and I fell backwards, but she fell as well… only over the edge.

I could see the fear… I tried to offer my paw. instead she glared at me and looked at the raging waters below.

"Give me your paw!" I ordered firmly, but slowly she glared at me.

"No… never." And with that she let go and fell to the bottom of the deadly rushing river. I slowly backed up and slowly limped towards my brother. He slowly looked up at me, but he bared his fangs.

"You! You traitor!" He shouted at me and my ears lowered, he gabbed up Rose by the scruff and ran with her. I didn't go after them. Maybe… this would change him without Meshi's evil influence.

"I'll wait! I'll wait for you to come back, because I'll always be here for you no matter what! We're family and I love you brother!" I shouted after him. I didn't know if he'd be able to hear me or not, but it didn't matter.

The rain had stopped and I looked back to see Yuri and Imooto-sama along with the grizzle slowly heading towards me.

"The tide has turned. As soon as they realized their leader had been dealt with, they quickly killed themselves." The grizzle informed me. I sighed deeply.

"Then it's over?" I asked, slowly walked to the edge of the cliff and watching the cheering animals below me.

"It is done. We've crushed them and the mountain has mostly burned." He stated quietly. "I suppose I should give the winning speech?"

"Please do." I said quietly.

"What are you thinking?" Imooto-sama asked.

"That I want to go home and sleep for three days." I replied quietly. "What about you two?"

"I really do have to get home with my pack." She replied and I nodded. "But we'll meet up for cookies every once in awhile, right?"

"Roger." I said. "Yuri?"

"I guess… if there's room… I'll stay with you and your pack."

"Alright then, Yuri. Let's head home." I told him and turned to start down the hill. The journey back was quiet and my mind wandered to home. I could finally go home. It was a long and hard journey and not everybody had made it out, like my brother, but we made it through.

We would continue on here, until we made it back to our real home with God. There was a light at the end of the tunnel and we gradually got closer to it with every day that passed. We would get there. We'd get there.

XxXxX

End

Thanks for reading, leave a review and God Bless.


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